Shift is a festival of Canadian and Dutch arts, with activities at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam, and Harbourfront Centre and the Music Gallery in Toronto. Conceived by Continuum's Artistic Director Jennifer Waring, Shift creates opportunities for exploration, exchange and new artistic and cultural understanding.

Catalysts for this activity are the strong connection between the two countries stemming from Canada's role in the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II, the subsequent wave of emigration, and the oft-remarked affinity the people of the two countries feel for each other – a comfort and
innate understanding. But have the modes and symbols of understanding become worn out and clichéd? Shift, with its offerings of music, film, literature and visual art seeks to create new definitions of this celebrated international friendship.